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<p>Former Luzerne County Judge Mark Ciavarella has received approval to challenge some of his convictions in the &#8220;Kids for Cash&#8221; scandal at a higher court level.</p><p>In the meantime, the disgraced judge&#8217;s retrial on several counts recently vacated will be on hold pending that appeal.</p><p>In what was essentially a formality, U.S. District Chief Judge Christopher C. Conner in Harrisburg on Monday granted Ciavarella&#8217;s request that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit hear his arguments of ineffective counsel and judicial error when instructing the jury at his 2011 trial.</p><p>Ciavarella, 68, has been serving a 28-year prison sentence after a jury found him guilty of participating in a $2.8 million scheme with former county judge Michael Conahan in the construction of two private, for-profit juvenile detention centers and the placement of youths in the facilities in Pittston Township and Butler County.</p><p>Conahan pleaded guilty to racketeering and was sentenced to 17&#189; years in prison. The 65-year-old Conahan is held at the low-security Federal Correctional Institution in Miami. He has a release date of Dec. 18, 2026.</p><p>Ciavarella secured the appeal he sought last month after Conner vacated his convictions on charges of racketeering, racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to launder money. Conner, who was not the trial judge, ruled Ciavarella should be retried on those charges because his defense attorneys failed to raise the issue that the statute of limitations expired and, as a result, violated his constitutional right to effective counsel.</p><p>Conner&#8217;s order also applied to the jury instructions on the honest services mail fraud charge and allowed Ciavarella to argue that a 2016 U.S. Supreme Court decision was in his favor.</p><p>Ciavarella was not released from prison because his convictions on nine other charges were not affected by Conner&#8217;s January ruling. He is held at the Federal Correctional Institution at Ashland, Ky., with a release date of Dec. 30, 2035. That date could change depending upon his appeal.</p><p>The U.S. Attorney&#8217;s Office notified Conner that it intended to appeal his January ruling that overturned the convictions. But Conner&#8217;s latest order also stayed those proceedings pending the outcome in appellate court.</p>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/web1_Mark-Ciavarella-2011-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Ciavarella </div></div><div class="metaInfo">https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/web1_Mark-Ciavarella-2011-1.jpgCiavarella </div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></div><div class="metaInfo"><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></div>

Ex-judge Ciavarella can appeal convictions to 3rd Circuit; retrial on hold